Committee on Education and the Workforce

Reps. Castle, Goodling Introduce Legislation
to Improve Educational Research

WASHINGTON – Citing the growing need to improve federal educational research and make it more independent of political influences, two members of the Education and the Workforce Committee introduced a bill today to accomplish those goals.  Reps. Michael Castle (R-DE) and Bill Goodling (R-PA) introduced the Scientifically Based Educational Research, Evaluation, Statistics, and Information Act of 2000.  The bill restructures and streamlines the current system to ensure the quality and integrity of research, evaluation, and statistics.

“Education research is broken in our country, and Congress must work to make it more useful, more independent of political influence, and less bureaucratic than the current system,” said Castle, chairman of the Early Childhood, Youth, and Families Subcommittee.  “Research needs to be conducted on a more scientific basis.”

Among the changes, the legislation restructures several agencies in the Education Department to form the new National Academy of Educational Research, Statistics, Evaluation, and Information.  The academy would replace the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), currently located in the Education Department.  The change provides less bureaucracy and more resources for creating high quality educational research, statistics gathering, program evaluation, and information dissemination.  The academy, which would consist of four smaller agencies, would be an organization separate from the Education Department.

“I have always stressed quality over quantity, results over process, and those principles certainly hold true for educational research,” said Goodling, chairman of the full committee.  “The agencies that conduct important research need independence.  Researchers should be able to ask difficult questions about education reform efforts without pressure from Congress or the Education Department.  Duplication and overlap of research responsibilities needs to be reduced.”

            “We propose legislation that sets high standards and significant reforms because that is what’s needed,” Castle said.  “Educators and policy makers need objective, reliable research, evaluation, and dissemination.”

(A summary of major provisions follows.)

Scientifically Based Educational Research, Evaluation, Statistics,
and Information Act of 2000
Summary of Major Provisions

Evidence shows that use of flawed or untested education proposals can have a negative impact on the education of children.  Therefore, the federal government should hold itself to the highest standards when conducting educational research, evaluating the success of federal education programs, and producing educational statistics.  To ensure the quality and integrity of research, evaluation, and statistics, the bill proposes a restructuring of the current system.

Creating the National Academy of Educational Research, Statistics, Evaluation, and Information

• The new National Academy of Educational Research, Statistics, Evaluation, and Information would replace the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), currently located in the Education Department.  The change provides the resources for creating high quality educational research, statistics gathering, program evaluation, and information dissemination.

• The academy would be separate from the Education Department, or any other federal agency, to ensure its activities are carried out with the greatest level of independence and integrity.

• Four main centers would make up the academy: the National Center for Educational Research; the National Center for Program Evaluation and Development; the National Center for Education Statistics; and the National Center for Educational Information.

o   National Center for Educational Research (NCER).  The NCER would replace the six existing education institutes and be directed by a commissioner.  The agency would focus on a limited number of research priorities designed to address national educational issues. All research funded by the NCER would be required to meet the “scientifically valid research” requirements as defined in the legislation.

o   National Center for Program Evaluation and Development (NCPED).  Currently, the Education Department is charged with evaluating its own programs and does not have the incentive to dedicate the resources to conduct high quality evaluations that determine whether programs are working.  The NCPED would provide independent program evaluations designed specifically to determine what works and what does not.

o   National Center for Educational Information (NCEI).  The NCEI would streamline the existing maze of federal education clearinghouses.  It would be responsible for collecting, archiving, and disseminating all research, statistics, and evaluations undertaken within the agency, as well as other relevant education-related materials from other federal agencies and research institutions.

o  National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).  The legislation maintains the  existing structure under the NCES but moves the agency outside of the Education Department

Other Major Provisions

• National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) would be given full authority to develop policy and carry out the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). 

·        A new and more narrowly focused Office of Planning, Performance Measurement, and Technical Assistance would replace the current Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination.

• Planning and Performance Measurement.  In addition to short-term evaluations, the agency would oversee the creation of a performance measurement system to measure the quality of programs.

• Regional Technical Assistance.  The agency also would oversee a regionally based grant program, combining funds currently directed to Regional Educational Laboratories, Comprehensive Centers, Regional Technology Centers, and a portion of the funds under the Eisenhower Math and Science Consortium currently used for technical assistance.  Each region of the country, as designated by the Director of the office, would convene a governing board to determine its unique priorities and to develop a plan for disseminating educational research, providing technical assistance, and for carrying out applied research projects. 

• Consumer-Driven Technical Assistance Grants.  The agency would direct a state-based grant program providing funds for high-need schools, giving them the opportunity to select their own providers of high-quality technical assistance.

Prohibition on National Tests

·        The legislation prohibits federally sponsored national individualized tests, including the development of such tests.